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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 12 Hansard (25 November) . . Page.. 3740 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

west of the Murrumbidgee River, for example - we support the proposal to offer 99-year leases to lessees. It will provide a level of tenure and security currently afforded to all who hold a residential lease. As part of this package of offering to rural lessees 99-year leases, the Government proposes a package which requires a lessee to pay out land rent and purchase all government improvements.

The Government has proposed a number of options for rural lessees to achieve this, including a full payout; a partial payout with a remainder of a 30-year period at 8 per cent; or the entire amount paid out over the 30 years. These are generous terms from the Government. After close examination, Labor is satisfied that this offer, which calculates the value of the lease not on a market value but on a dry sheep equivalent value, is an appropriate response to meet the requirements of the Territory's planning and environment policies, to ensure that our rural areas are managed in a sustainable way by lessees permitted long-term tenure.

Further, we will support government proposals in relation to a covenant on the transfer or sale of a new lease within a 10-year period, which will protect the community interest. More importantly, they will put restrictions on - indeed, stop - windfall gain. I am conscious that there are rural lessees unhappy with this approach. They believe it will result in the value of their properties being downgraded unfairly without just compensation.

We have examined this issue closely and recognise that there may be an argument on the grounds of a change to the bundle of rights associated with the new lease as opposed to the old lease. Labor cannot accept that these are grounds for not proceeding with this package. Legal advice provided to me by the Government Solicitor's office indicates that the proposals are consistent with the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act in relation to the requirement for compensation on just terms.

While some rural lessees clearly disagree with this advice, it is difficult for the Assembly to disagree with the Territory's rights to vary the terms and conditions of any new, as opposed to an, existing, lease as long as it is consistent with the requirements of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act. Based on substantiative advice provided by the Government Solicitor's Office, we will be supporting this approach in the Assembly today.

The other important element of this package is provision of land management agreements for rural properties, which will accompany the new long-term leases issued to leaseholders. Land management agreements are a positive step in providing for appropriate development of long-term conservation and environmental management practices on rural leases. This is not to say these practices are not already implemented by most rural leaseholders. But it does formalise such arrangements. More importantly, it creates a partnership between the Territory as a lessor and the rural property owner as a lessee in managing the land sustainably and protecting areas of endangered or threatened species or endangered or threatened ecosystems.

Labor does, however, have considerable concerns about the level of financial support proposed by the Government to assist rural leaseholders in administering and implementing their land management agreements. The amount proposed in the budget,

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